Houston has lost four in a row
Astros swept by A's as Oakland grabs another walk-off win
Sep 26, 2021, 6:55 pm
Houston has lost four in a row
Jake Odorizzi went four innings while allowing a run in his return from the IL on Sunday.
After dropping the first two games of the series, the Astros still had plenty of reasons to shrug off the recent struggles and pick things back up to move closer to locking up their playoff spot. They'd move no closer on Sunday, though, as Oakland would hand Houston another loss to end their road trip with four losses in a row.
Final Score: A's 4, Astros 3
Astros' Record: 91-65, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Lou Trivino (7-7)
Losing Pitcher: Ryne Stanek (3-5)
After landing on the IL with a foot injury he experienced covering first on September 13th, Jake Odorizzi made his return to the mound to face the A's on Sunday. He did decent, allowing one run in his four innings of work which came on a two-out RBI single to former Astro Tony Kemp in the bottom of the second. He otherwise kept Oakland at bay, allowing four hits and two walks to make his final line 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 82 P.
With no chance at the win due to not making it five innings, he would at least get off the hook for the loss, as in the top of the fifth, his offense tied things up with three straight singles, the third by Jose Siri to make it a 1-1 game. Cristian Javier took over out of the bullpen in the bottom of the inning, and he came on sharp to strike out the side.
Breggy Bomb for the lead! đź’Ł#ForTheHÂ pic.twitter.com/CmmJbo8M46
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 26, 2021
The Astros kept hitting the ball in the sixth, getting a go-ahead solo homer to start the frame by Alex Bregman, followed by a single by Yordan Alvarez and RBI double by Yuli Gurriel, making it a two-run game. Javier stayed hot in the bottom of the inning, striking out two more batters in a 1-2-3 inning to maintain the new 3-1 lead.
Oakland cracked Javier in the bottom of the seventh, getting a leadoff single followed by a hit-by-pitch to put two on base. They would get one run across on a sac bunt and RBI groundout, prompting Dusty Baker to make a move to bring in Phil Maton, who would give up a game-tying infield single before finishing the inning.
A scoreless eighth by both teams sent the game to the ninth, where the Astros had a chance in the top half. A one-out single by Jose Siri put the go-ahead run on base, and on a two-out single by Alex Bregman, Siri would reach, and unfortunately run through, third base and get thrown out at home to keep the game 3-3.
Ryne Stanek, who got through the eighth on just seven pitches, tried to force extras as he returned to the mound in the ninth. Oakland put the winning run on third against him, getting back-to-back singles to start the inning before a flyout and intentional walk loaded the bases as Houston would bring in Ryan Pressly to try and get out of the jam. Pressly threw one pitch, which was turned around for the walk-off hit to give Oakland the sweep and keep Houston waiting to clinch their playoff spot.
Up Next: With this road trip completed, the Astros will travel back to Houston before an off day on Monday. Tuesday, they'll start their final week and last homestand of the regular season, with the opener of three against the AL-best Rays at 7:10 PM Central. The expected pitching matchup is still to be determined, but currently, it sets up to be Michael Wacha (3-5, 5.49 ERA) for Tampa Bay and Jose Urquidy (8-3, 3.56 ERA) for Houston.
After falling in the divisional round of the playoffs for the second straight season, quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans believe they’re “really close” to taking the next step and making their first AFC championship game.
The question is what they’ll need to do to get to that level.
For Stroud it will be leaning on a mindset he’s had since his days at Ohio State.
“From Day 1 of the offseason program there has to be a standard set, and that standard has to be … I’m not going to be the one to mess this thing up. Like I’m going to be the one to make this team win the game,” he said. “If that’s Week 1 all the way to the AFC championship. That standard from training camp has to be the standard. I feel like that’s what it needs to be for us to get over that hump.”
The Texans lost 23-14 to the Chiefs on Saturday, their sixth loss in the divisional round and second at Kansas City.
Coach DeMeco Ryans, who has had an 11-8 record in both of his first two years in Houston, said eliminating mistakes should be his team's No. 1 goal.
“The teams that are still standing are teams that don’t shoot themselves in the foot,” he said. “They put themselves in good positions to play complementary football and they do it well. That’s why you’re at the end. So, if we want to be there, we just got to do our jobs and do it on a consistent basis.”
Stroud threw for 245 yards but was hurried and harassed all day in a game where he was sacked eight times. Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 55-yard field-goal attempt, an extra point and had another field-goal attempt blocked with less than two minutes left, which would have kept Houston’s comeback hopes alive by making it a one-possession game.
The Texans won the AFC South for a second straight season and soundly beat the Chargers at home to advance to play the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.
Defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who has paired with Stroud to help turn around this franchise over the past two seasons, believes Houston has the pieces in place to contend for a title despite another early exit.
“We’re right there,” he said. “I don’t care what nobody says, this is a fantastic team. We’ve got our quarterback. We’ve got everything we need. We’ve just got to keep stacking and keep persevering.”
The Texans could need to add a receiver this offseason with Stefon Diggs becoming an unrestricted free agent and Tank Dell recovering from another serious leg injury.
Diggs had 47 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games this season after a blockbuster trade from Buffalo before a season-ending knee injury.
Stroud has said he’d like to have Diggs back next season, but it’s too early to tell if the Texans will pursue re-signing the 31-year-old.
Dell faces a long recovery after tearing his ACL and dislocating his knee in a loss to Kansas City in December. This injury comes after Dell fractured his fibula in Week 13 against the Broncos in the 2023 season.
Dell was Houston's second-leading receiver behind Nico Collins with 667 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Ryans was asked if Dell's most recent injury could keep him out next season.
“We will continue to assess Tank and see where he ends up,” Ryans said. “It is too early right now to put a timeline on it. We will just give him time to heal and progress, see how the rehab goes.”
Houston’s secondary was a strength of the team this season with the stellar performance of Derek Stingley and the emergence of rookies Calen Bullock and Kamari Lassiter.
Stingley, the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, shook off two injury-filled seasons to earn first-team AP All-Pro honors. The cornerback ranked second in the NFL in the regular season with 18 passes defensed and grabbed two interceptions in Houston’s wild-card playoff win.
Lassiter, a second-round pick from Georgia, started 14 games and had three interceptions in the regular season and had another pick against the Chargers. Bullock, taken in the third round from Southern California, also had five interceptions in the regular season to tie Stingley for the team lead.
“We’ve got one of the best secondaries in this league and a very young and talented secondary also,” Bullock said. “So, it’s pretty scary for what we’ve got in the future, especially with the plays we made this year.”
The Texans will look to improve their offensive line this offseason after they allowed 54 sacks in the regular season and 12 more in the postseason.
“In the playoffs, you’ve got to win your one-on-one battles. That’s what the game always comes down to,” Ryans said. “You have to have some pride in who you’re blocking, to get it done and give the quarterback a chance to throw the football.”